Why I Am a Socialist

sea were in the habit of filling their product with scrap iron instead of cork, because scrap iron was cheaper. This was, of course, equivalent to causing the death of almost any person obliged to intrust his safety to such a device. Upon the publication of this discovery a wave of horror swept over the country and the manufacturers were somewhat recklessly denounced as cold-hearted villains and no better than murderers. A little investigation showed that they were not, in fact, of depraved or even unusual character. Competition was keen in their trade. For every contract to supply life preservers there was a surplus of bidders. Under the stress of this conflict the quality of the goods gradually declined as the prices were cut in competitive bidding. From making life preservers of cork so poor that it would not float, the manufacturers drifted into the habit of filling the life preservers with other and still cheaper materials. Disastrous as the results might be, no one in the trade really contemplated manslaughter. It was a custom brought about by competition and probably accepted without thought in the fierce battle for business. About this time the Chicago Tribune, as the result oflong and minute investigations, made known some startling facts concerning the prevalence of adulteration in the drug trade. It declared that of one substance quite commonly used in surgical dressings it had been unable to find a pure specimen at any drug store, and most of the m...